Rehabilitation Counselors Salary: $50,866 Median Pay (2026 stats)
TL;DR
About 88,930 rehabilitation counselors nationally earn a mean of $50,866. Employment in the series shown rose about 10% from the first to the last year; projections imply about 3.6% annual growth.
Key Statistics
Rehabilitation Counselors: what the data shows
Common questions about rehabilitation counselors careers, answered from BLS OEWS and O*NET in this repository.
What is a rehabilitation counselors?
Rehabilitation Counselors is tracked by the Bureau of Labor Statistics under SOC 21-1015.
U.S. employment in our OEWS extract is about 88,930 workers.
What does a rehabilitation counselors do?
O*NET work activities rated highest for this occupation include Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Making Decisions and Solving Problems, Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships, Documenting/Recording Information, Communicating with People Outside the Organization, Getting Information, and related tasks. See Work Activities for the full list.
How much does a rehabilitation counselors make?
BLS national median annual wage: $46,110 (May 2024 in our extract).
Mean annual wage in our occupational extract: $50,866 — higher than the median, which often reflects top earners in the distribution.
| Wage percentile | Annual wage |
|---|---|
| 10th percentile | $38,293 |
| 25th percentile | $40,954 |
| Median (50th) | $45,483 |
| 75th percentile | $53,660 |
| 90th percentile | $74,101 |
What education do you need?
For Rehabilitation Counselors, O*NET incumbent surveys in our extract most often report: Some college (29%), High School or Equivalent (27%), Bachelors Degree (22%).
These are education levels of current workers, not minimum legal requirements.
What skills do you need?
O*NET ratings for this occupation emphasize skills such as Speaking, Social Perceptiveness, Service Orientation, Active Listening, Monitoring, Reading Comprehension, and knowledge areas including Customer and Personal Service, Therapy and Counseling, Psychology, Education and Training. See Education & Skills for detail.
Is rehabilitation counselors in demand?
Historical employment trend in our series implies about 3.6% annual growth (compound rate in the extract).
Five-year projected employment change: 19.4%.
Ten-year projected employment change: 42.6%.
Current U.S. headcount: 88,930.
We report federal series only—compare wages, growth, and openings against your target market.
Where do rehabilitation counselorss work?
Top industries by employment share in our OEWS industry extract:
| Industry | Employment | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Cross-industry | 88,930 | 17.9% |
| Cross-industry, Private Ownership only | 69,630 | 14.0% |
| Health Care and Social Assistance | 65,460 | 13.2% |
| Social Assistance | 44,230 | 8.9% |
| Vocational Rehabilitation Services | 29,330 | 5.9% |
| Federal, State, and Local Government, including State and Local Government Schools and Hospitals and the U.S. Postal Service (OEWS Designation) | 19,300 | 3.9% |
See Industry for charts.
What degrees lead to this career?
Common majors for Rehabilitation Counselors in O*NET:
See Related degrees.
What careers are related?
Other occupations linked through shared degree pathways in our mapping:
| Occupation | U.S. employment | Median wage |
|---|---|---|
| Clinical and Counseling Psychologists | 72,190 | $95,830 |
| Psychiatric Aides | 34,900 | $41,590 |
| Genetic Counselors | 3,510 | $98,910 |
| Substance Abuse and Behavioral Disorder Counselors | — | — |
| Audiologists | 14,730 | $92,120 |
Employment
Employment and salary information for the Rehabilitation Counselors workforce.
Employment Over Time
88,930 Workforce in 2023
The Rehabilitation Counselors workforce has been growing over time.
Historical employment trends for Rehabilitation Counselors.
Yearly Wage Ranking
$50,866 Average Wage
In 2023, Rehabilitation Counselors earned an average of $50,866.
Wage ranking compared to other occupations.
Wage Distribution
This chart shows the distribution of average salaries by income buckets for Rehabilitation Counselors.
Salary distribution for Rehabilitation Counselors.
Employment Growth Projections
3.6% Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR)
63,586 Projected Employment (5 years)
Projected growth: 19.4%
75,943 Projected Employment (10 years)
Projected growth: 42.6%
This occupation is projected to grow at 3.6% annually, indicating strong future demand.
Historical employment trends and future projections for Rehabilitation Counselors.
Industry
Information on the industries that employ Rehabilitation Counselors and on wages for those in the field.
Occupations by Industries
This graphic shows the share of Rehabilitation Counselors employed by various industries.
Industry distribution for Rehabilitation Counselors.
Wage Trends by Industry
8.4% Average Annual Wage Growth Rate
Historical wage growth trends by industry for Rehabilitation Counselors.
Geographic Distribution
Employment and wage information by geographic location for Rehabilitation Counselors.
Metropolitan employment on this page is from the California OEWS extract. Area names omit state codes; all listed metros are in California, so the state chart shows California totals (not a multi-state ranking).
Top States by Employment
Top States by Employment:
- CA: 12,420 employees, $50,955 avg wage
Top 10 states by employment for Rehabilitation Counselors.
Top Metropolitan Areas
Top Metropolitan Areas:
- Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale MD: 3,550 employees, $48,809 avg wage
- Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine MD: 1,200 employees, $49,070 avg wage
- San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad MSA: 1,050 employees, $49,592 avg wage
- Oakland-Fremont-Berkeley MD: 930 employees, $58,912 avg wage
- Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario MSA: 920 employees, $51,626 avg wage
- Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom MSA: 850 employees, $48,904 avg wage
- San Francisco-San Mateo-Redwood City MD: 650 employees, $59,548 avg wage
- Fresno MSA: 590 employees, $44,487 avg wage
- San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara MSA: 500 employees, $65,370 avg wage
- Bakersfield-Delano MSA: 280 employees, $49,325 avg wage
Top 10 metropolitan statistical areas by employment for Rehabilitation Counselors.
Diversity
Demographic information on Rehabilitation Counselors in the US.
Gender and Age
The workforce of Rehabilitation Counselors in 2023 was 88,930 people, with 62.0% women and 38.0% men.
Gender and age distribution for Rehabilitation Counselors.
Races
Racial and ethnic shares when present in the career dataset. If the chart area shows a notice instead, occupational race/ethnicity fields are not yet populated for this extract.
Race and ethnicity distribution for Rehabilitation Counselors.
Education & Skills
Data on higher education choices and required skills for Rehabilitation Counselors.
Majors
The most common majors achieved by Rehabilitation Counselors in 2023 were Business Administration, Social Work, Psychology.
Common majors for Rehabilitation Counselors.
Education Levels
The main educational levels achieved by Rehabilitation Counselors workers.
Education level distribution for Rehabilitation Counselors.
Skills
Rehabilitation Counselors need many skills, but most especially Speaking, Social Perceptiveness, Service Orientation, Active Listening, Monitoring.
Required skills for Rehabilitation Counselors.
Knowledge & Abilities
Knowledge areas and abilities required for Rehabilitation Counselors.
Knowledge Areas
The most important knowledge areas for Rehabilitation Counselors include Customer and Personal Service, Therapy and Counseling, Psychology, Education and Training, English Language.
Knowledge areas required for Rehabilitation Counselors.
Abilities
Key abilities needed for Rehabilitation Counselors include Oral Comprehension, Oral Expression, Speech Clarity, Written Expression, Problem Sensitivity.
Required abilities for Rehabilitation Counselors.
Work Activities
Common work activities performed by Rehabilitation Counselors.
Daily Activities
Rehabilitation Counselors spend their time on activities such as Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates, Making Decisions and Solving Problems, Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships, Documenting/Recording Information, Communicating with People Outside the Organization.
Most important work activities for Rehabilitation Counselors.
About
Rehabilitation Counselors
The average yearly wage for Rehabilitation Counselors was $50,866 in 2023.
SOC Code
21-1015 - Rehabilitation Counselors
Insights and Analysis
Compensation snapshot: Rehabilitation Counselors reports an average salary of $50,866.
Labor market presence: The current workforce is approximately 88,930 workers, indicating sustained demand.
Forward outlook: Projected annual growth is 3.6%, which should inform long-term career planning.
Data Sources
This page uses data from the following sources:
- College Scorecard - U.S. Department of Education
- Institutional characteristics, costs, completion rates, and earnings data
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: collegescorecard.ed.gov
- Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS)
- Employment and wage data by occupation
- Latest data: May 2024
- Source: bls.gov/oes
- O*NET Online - U.S. Department of Labor
- Occupational skills, knowledge, abilities, and work activities
- Database version: 28.0 (August 2023)
- Source: onetcenter.org
- IPEDS (Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System) - National Center for Education Statistics
- Institutional data, completions, enrollment, and financial aid
- Data years: 2015-2024
- Source: nces.ed.gov/ipeds
- Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS)
- Demographic and workforce data
- Latest data: 2023 ACS 5-Year Estimates
- Source: census.gov/acs
Data Processing: All data has been processed, cleaned, and aggregated for presentation. Where specific data points are unavailable, estimates are based on available data and clearly marked.
Last Updated: Data reflects the most recent available information as of January 2025.
Methodology
Data for this profile is sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS), Census Bureau American Community Survey (ACS), and O*NET Online.
All wage figures represent annual averages and may vary by location, industry, and experience level.